Larry Cooke
Africa Head of Legal, Binance
Larry has been instrumental in guiding Binance through the evolving regulatory, policy and strategy landscape across Africa. With his extensive legal expertise, he ensures that Binance’s operations align with regional and global compliance standards, focusing on fostering responsible innovation in the cryptocurrency space through balanced regulation and public & private partnerships.
Before joining Binance, Larry served as Lead Legal Counsel at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all legal matters related to SARB’s subsidiaries, South African Mint Company and Prestige Bullion. Larry was also legal counsel for SARB’s FinTech, SADC (Southern African Development Community), FinSurv (Financial Surveillance), and Corporate Services divisions. He was Chairman of SARB’s Under-35s group.
Before his tenure at SARB, Larry spent over six years at Absa Group (also previously operating as Barclays Africa), holding various senior legal roles. As Senior Legal Counsel, he provided commercial legal advice on procurement, technology, and operations. He also played a key role in driving cultural transformation at Absa as the Culture Lead, where he led enterprise-wide initiatives to align organizational culture with strategic objectives.
Earlier in his career, Larry was an Attorney at Webber Wentzel, where he gained valuable experience in employment, banking, finance, and regulatory practices.
